Network node configured to provide wireless access with enhanced resource allocation

ABSTRACT

When a network node providing wireless access and serving plurality of user devices receives information on channel conditions from one or more user devices, the network node determines available resources for traffic to and from the one or more user devices; and, when there is higher priority traffic, the network node uses reliability increasing resource allocation for the higher priority traffic at least as long as there are enough resources available.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various example embodiments relates to wireless communications.

BACKGROUND

In recent years the phenomenal growth of mobile services andproliferation of smart phones and tablets have increased a demand forhigher network capacity. Future wireless networks, such as the 5^(th)Generation, 5G, is envisaged to expand and support diverse usagescenarios and applications with respect to current mobile networkgenerations. One of the scenarios for 5G is ultra reliable low latencycommunications with strict requirements, especially in terms of latencyand reliability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

According to an aspect, there is provided the subject matter of theindependent claims. Some embodiments are defined in the dependentclaims.

An aspect provides a network node configured to provide wireless access,the network node comprising: at least one processor; and at least onememory including computer program code; the at least one memory andcomputer program code configured to, with the at least one processor,cause the network node at least to perform: determining, in response toreceiving information on channel conditions from one or more userdevices, available resources for traffic to and from the one or moreuser devices; and using reliability increasing resource allocation forhigher priority traffic at least as long as there are enough resourcesavailable.

In a further aspect, the at least one memory and computer program codeconfigured to, with the at least one processor, further cause thenetwork node of the above aspect at least to perform the reliabilityincreasing resource allocation by selecting to the higher prioritytraffic a modulation coding scheme intended for more worse channelconditions than channel conditions indicated in the information onchannel conditions received from a user device.

In a still further aspect, the at least one memory and computer programcode configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause thenetwork node of the above aspect at least to perform the reliabilityincreasing resource allocation by using a channel quality index valuewith a lower value than a value indicated in the information on channelconditions received from the user device to select the modulation codingscheme.

In another aspect, the at least one memory and computer program codeconfigured to, with the at least one processor, further cause, inresponse to enough resources not being available, the network node ofany above aspects at least to perform shifting, in response to a mixedtraffic load of higher priority traffic and non-higher priority traffic,resources from the non-higher priority traffic to the higher prioritytraffic; and using the reliability increasing resources allocation forhigher priority traffic.

In a further aspect, the at least one memory and computer program codeconfigured to, with the at least one processor, further cause thenetwork node of the above aspect at least to perform the shifting byselecting a modulation coding scheme intended for better channelconditions than channel conditions indicated in the information onchannel conditions received from the user device.

In a still further aspect, the at least one memory and computer programcode configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause thenetwork node of the above aspect at least to perform the shifting byusing higher channel quality index values than those indicated in theinformation on channel conditions received from user devices withnon-higher priority traffic to select the modulation coding scheme.

In an aspect, the at least one memory and computer program codeconfigured to, with the at least one processor, further cause thenetwork node of any above aspect at least to perform determining whetherthere is enough resources available by taking into account theadditional resources needed by the reliability increasing resourceallocation for higher priority traffic.

In another aspect, the at least one memory and computer program codeconfigured to, with the at least one processor, further cause thenetwork node of any above aspect at least to perform determining whethera traffic is higher priority traffic or non-higher priority trafficbased on reliability level of the information on channel conditionsand/or based on quality of service requirements of the traffic and/orbased on whether the traffic is ultra reliable low latencycommunications service traffic.

In a further aspect, the at least one memory and computer program codeconfigured to, with the at least one processor, further cause thenetwork node of any above aspects at least to perform: treating ultrareliable low latency communications traffic as the higher prioritytraffic; and selecting amongst user devices with ultra reliable lowlatency communications traffic those user devices to which ultrareliable low latency communications traffic the reliability increasingresource allocation is used.

In a further aspect, the at least one memory and computer program codeconfigured to, with the at least one processor, further cause thenetwork node of the above aspect at least to perform the selecting basedon reliability level of the information on channel conditions and/orbased on reliability requirements of ultra reliable low latencycommunications service.

In a still further aspect, the at least one memory and computer programcode configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause thenetwork node of any above aspect at least to perform: treating ultrareliable low latency communications traffic as the higher prioritytraffic; and selecting, in response to enough resources not beingavailable and all traffic being ultra reliable low latencycommunications traffic, user devices to which ultra reliable low latencycommunications traffic to use the reliability increasing resourcesallocation.

In a further aspect, the at least one memory and computer program codeconfigured to, with the at least one processor, further cause thenetwork node of the above aspect at least to perform the selecting basedon reliability level of the information on channel conditions and/orbased on reliability requirements of ultra reliable low latencycommunications service.

An aspect provides a method comprising: receiving, by a network nodeproviding wireless access, information on channel conditions from one ormore user devices; determining, by the network node, available resourcesfor traffic to and from the one or more user devices; and using, by thenetwork node, reliability increasing resource allocation for higherpriority traffic at least as long as there are enough resourcesavailable.

In another aspect the method of above aspect further comprises, whenthere is not enough resources available and there is a mixed trafficload of higher priority traffic and non-higher priority traffic:shifting, by the network node, resources from the non-higher prioritytraffic to the higher priority traffic; and using, by the network node,the reliability increasing resources allocation for higher prioritytraffic.

In another aspect the method of any of above aspects further comprises,when there is not enough resources available: selecting, by the networknode, one or more user devices amongst user devices with higher prioritytraffic, based on reliability level of the information on channelconditions received and/or based on reliability requirements ofcommunications service used; and using the reliability increasingresources allocation to the one or more user devices selected.

An aspect provides a non-transitory computer readable medium comprisingprogram instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least thefollowing: determining, in response to receiving information on channelconditions from one or more user devices, available resources fortraffic to and from the one or more user devices; and using reliabilityincreasing resource allocation for higher priority traffic at least aslong as there are enough resources available.

An aspect provides a computer program comprising instructions forcausing an apparatus to perform at least the following: determining, inresponse to receiving information on channel conditions from one or moreuser devices, available resources for traffic to and from the one ormore user devices; and using reliability increasing resource allocationfor higher priority traffic at least as long as there are enoughresources available.

One or more examples of implementations are set forth in more detail inthe accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features willbe apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In the following, example embodiments will be described in greaterdetail with reference to the attached drawings, in which

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplified wireless communication system;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram;

FIGS. 3 to 9 illustrate exemplified processes;

FIG. 10 illustrates information exchange; and

FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

The following embodiments are only presented as examples. Although thespecification may refer to “an”, “one”, or “some” embodiment(s) and/orexample(s) in several locations of the text, this does not necessarilymean that each reference is made to the same embodiment(s) orexample(s), or that a particular feature only applies to a singleembodiment and/or example. Single features of different embodimentsand/or examples may also be combined to provide other embodiments and/orexamples.

Embodiments and examples described herein may be implemented in anycommunications system comprising wireless connection(s). In thefollowing, different exemplifying embodiments will be described using,as an example of an access architecture to which the embodiments may beapplied, a radio access architecture based on long term evolutionadvanced (LTE Advanced, LTE-A) or new radio (NR, 5G), withoutrestricting the embodiments to such an architecture, however. It isobvious for a person skilled in the art that the embodiments may also beapplied to other kinds of communications networks having suitable meansby adjusting parameters and procedures appropriately. Some examples ofother options for suitable systems are the universal mobiletelecommunications system (UMTS) radio access network (UTRAN orE-UTRAN), long term evolution (LTE, the same as E-UTRA), beyond 5G,wireless local area network (WLAN or WiFi), worldwide interoperabilityfor microwave access (WiMAX), Bluetooth®, personal communicationsservices (PCS), ZigBee®, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA),systems using ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, sensor networks, mobilead-hoc networks (MANETs) and Internet Protocol multimedia subsystems(IMS) or any combination thereof.

FIG. 1 depicts examples of simplified system architectures only showingsome elements and functional entities, all being logical units, whoseimplementation may differ from what is shown. The connections shown inFIG. 1 are logical connections; the actual physical connections may bedifferent. It is apparent to a person skilled in the art that the systemtypically comprises also other functions and structures than those shownin FIG. 1.

The embodiments are not, however, restricted to the system given as anexample but a person skilled in the art may apply the solution to othercommunication systems provided with necessary properties.

The example of FIG. 1 shows a part of an exemplifying radio accessnetwork.

FIG. 1 shows user devices 101 and 101′ configured to be in a wirelessconnection on one or more communication channels in a cell with anaccess node (such as (e/g)NodeB) 102 providing the cell. An example ofan access node and a cell provided is described in more detail with FIG.2. The physical link from a user device to a (e/g)NodeB is called uplinkor reverse link and the physical link from the (e/g)NodeB to the userdevice is called downlink or forward link. It should be appreciated that(e/g)NodeBs or their functionalities may be implemented by using anynode, host, server or access point etc. entity suitable for such ausage.

A communications system 100 typically comprises more than one (e/g)NodeBin which case the (e/g)NodeBs may also be configured to communicate withone another over links, wired or wireless, designed for the purpose.These links may be used for signalling purposes. The (e/g)NodeB is acomputing device configured to control the radio resources ofcommunication system it is coupled to. The NodeB may also be referred toas a base station, an access point, next generation base station or anyother type of interfacing device including a relay station capable ofoperating in a wireless environment. The (e/g)NodeB includes or iscoupled to transceivers. From the transceivers of the (e/g)NodeB, aconnection is provided to an antenna unit that establishesbi-directional radio links to user devices. The antenna unit maycomprise a plurality of antennas or antenna elements. The (e/g)NodeB isfurther connected to core network 105 (CN or next generation core NGC).Depending on the system, the counterpart on the CN side can be a servinggateway (S-GW, routing and forwarding user data packets), packet datanetwork gateway (P-GW), for providing connectivity of user devices (UEs)to external packet data networks, or mobile management entity (MME),etc.

The user device (also called UE, user equipment, user terminal, terminaldevice, etc.) illustrates one type of an apparatus to which resources onthe air interface are allocated and assigned, and thus any featuredescribed herein with a user device may be implemented with acorresponding apparatus, such as a relay node. An example of such arelay node is a layer 3 relay (self-backhauling relay) towards the basestation.

The user device typically refers to a portable computing device thatincludes wireless mobile communication devices operating with or withouta subscriber identification module (SIM), including, but not limited to,the following types of devices: a mobile station (mobile phone),smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), handset, device using awireless modem (alarm or measurement device, etc.), laptop and/or touchscreen computer, tablet, game console, notebook, multimedia device andvehicle device. It should be appreciated that a user device may also bea nearly exclusive uplink only device, of which an example is a cameraor video camera loading images or video clips to a network. A userdevice may also be a device having capability to operate in Internet ofThings (IoT) network which is a scenario in which objects are providedwith the ability to transfer data over a network without requiringhuman-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. The user device mayalso utilize cloud. In some applications, a user device may comprise asmall portable device with radio parts (such as a watch, earphones oreyeglasses) and the computation is carried out in the cloud. The userdevice (or in some embodiments a layer 3 relay node) is configured toperform one or more of user equipment functionalities. The user devicemay also be called a subscriber unit, mobile station, remote terminal,access terminal, user terminal or user equipment (UE) just to mentionbut a few names or apparatuses.

Various techniques described herein may also be applied to acyber-physical system (CPS) (a system of collaborating computationalelements controlling physical entities). CPS may enable theimplementation and exploitation of massive amounts of interconnected ICTdevices (sensors, actuators, processors microcontrollers, etc.) embeddedin physical objects at different locations. Mobile cyber physicalsystems, in which the physical system in question has inherent mobility,are a subcategory of cyber-physical systems. Examples of mobile physicalsystems include mobile robotics and electronics transported by humans oranimals.

Additionally, although the apparatuses have been depicted as singleentities, different units, processors and/or memory units (not all shownin FIG. 1) may be implemented.

5G enables using multiple input-multiple output (MIMO) antennas, manymore base stations or nodes or corresponding network devices than theLTE (a so-called small cell concept), including macro sites operating inco-operation with smaller stations and employing a variety of radiotechnologies depending on service needs, use cases and/or spectrumavailable. 5G mobile communications supports a wide range of use casesand related applications including video streaming, augmented reality,different ways of data sharing and various forms of machine typeapplications (such as (massive) machine-type communications (mMTC),including vehicular safety, different sensors and real-time control. 5Gis expected to have multiple radio interfaces, operating over namelybelow 6 GHz, cmWave and mmWave, and also being integradable withexisting legacy radio access technologies, such as the LTE. Integrationwith the LTE may be implemented, at least in the early phase, as asystem, where macro coverage is provided by the LTE and 5G radiointerface access comes from small cells by aggregation to the LTE. Inother words, 5G is planned to support both inter-RAT operability (suchas LTE-5G) and inter-RI operability (inter-radio interface operability,such as below 6 GHz-cmWave, below 6 GHz-cmWave-mmWave). One of theconcepts considered to be used in 5G networks is network slicing inwhich multiple independent and dedicated virtual sub-networks (networkinstances) may be created within the same infrastructure to run servicesthat have different requirements on latency, reliability, throughput andmobility.

The current architecture in LTE networks is fully distributed in theradio and fully centralized in the core network. The low latencyapplications and services in 5G require to bring the content close tothe radio which leads to local break out and multi-access edge computing(MEC). 5G enables analytics and knowledge generation to occur at thesource of the data. This approach requires leveraging resources that maynot be continuously connected to a network such as laptops, smartphones,tablets and sensors. MEC provides a distributed computing environmentfor application and service hosting. It also has the ability to storeand process content in close proximity to cellular subscribers forfaster response time. Edge computing covers a wide range of technologiessuch as wireless sensor networks, mobile data acquisition, mobilesignature analysis, cooperative distributed peer-to-peer ad hocnetworking and processing also classifiable as local cloud/fog computingand grid/mesh computing, dew computing, mobile edge computing, cloudlet,distributed data storage and retrieval, autonomic self-healing networks,remote cloud services, augmented and virtual reality, data caching, theInternet of Things (massive connectivity and/or latency critical),critical communications (autonomous vehicles, traffic safety, real-timeanalytics, time-critical control, healthcare applications).

The communication system is also able to communicate with othernetworks, such as a public switched telephone network or the Internet106, or utilise services provided by them. The communication network mayalso be able to support the usage of cloud services, for example atleast part of core network operations may be carried out as a cloudservice (this is depicted in FIG. 1 by “cloud” 107). The communicationsystem may also comprise a central control entity, or a like, providingfacilities for networks of different operators to cooperate for examplein spectrum sharing.

Edge cloud may be brought into radio access network (RAN) by utilizingnetwork function virtualization (NVF) and software defined networking(SDN). Using edge cloud may mean access node operations to be carriedout, at least partly, in a server, host or node operationally coupled toa remote radio head or base station comprising radio parts. It is alsopossible that node operations will be distributed among a plurality ofservers, nodes or hosts. Application of cloudRAN architecture enablesRAN real time functions being carried out at the RAN side (in adistributed unit, DU 102) and non-real time functions being carried outin a centralized manner (in a centralized unit, CU 104).

It should also be understood that the distribution of labour betweencore network operations and base station operations may differ from thatof the LTE or even be non-existent. Some other technology advancementsprobably to be used are Big Data and all-IP, which may change the waynetworks are being constructed and managed. 5G (or new radio, NR)networks are being designed to support multiple hierarchies, where MECservers can be placed between the core and the base station or nodeB(gNB). It should be appreciated that MEC can be applied in 4G networksas well.

5G may also utilize satellite communication to enhance or complement thecoverage of 5G service, for example by providing backhauling. Possibleuse cases are providing service continuity for machine-to-machine (M2M)or Internet of Things (IoT) devices or for passengers on board ofvehicles, or ensuring service availability for critical communications,and future railway/maritime/aeronautical communications. Satellitecommunication may utilise geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellitesystems, but also low earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems, in particularmega-constellations (systems in which hundreds of (nano)satellites aredeployed). Each satellite 103 in the mega-constellation may coverseveral satellite-enabled network entities that create on-ground cells.The on-ground cells may be created through an on-ground relay node 102or by a gNB located on-ground or in a satellite.

It is obvious for a person skilled in the art that the depicted systemis only an example of a part of a radio access system and in practice,the system may comprise a plurality of (e/g)NodeBs, the user device mayhave an access to a plurality of radio cells and the system may comprisealso other apparatuses, such as physical layer relay nodes or othernetwork elements, etc. At least one of the (e/g)NodeBs or may be aHome(e/g)nodeB. Additionally, in a geographical area of a radiocommunication system a plurality of different kinds of radio cells aswell as a plurality of radio cells may be provided. Radio cells may bemacro cells (or umbrella cells) which are large cells, usually having adiameter of up to tens of kilometers, or smaller cells such as micro-,femto- or picocells. The (e/g)NodeBs of FIG. 1 may provide any kind ofthese cells. A cellular radio system may be implemented as a multilayernetwork including several kinds of cells. Typically, in multilayernetworks, one access node provides one kind of a cell or cells, and thusa plurality of (e/g)NodeBs are required to provide such a networkstructure.

For fulfilling the need for improving the deployment and performance ofcommunication systems, the concept of “plug-and-play” (e/g)NodeBs hasbeen introduced. Typically, a network which is able to use“plug-and-play” (e/g)Node Bs, includes, in addition to Home (e/g)NodeBs(H(e/g)nodeBs), a home node B gateway, or HNB-GW (not shown in FIG. 1).A HNB Gateway (HNB-GW), which is typically installed within anoperator's network may aggregate traffic from a large number of HNBsback to a core network.

Below different exemplified examples are described using term basestation as a generic term for network nodes configured to providewireless access, such as gNBs. Further, in the below examples ultrareliable low latency communications (URLLC) service is used as anexample of a higher priority service without limiting the examples toURLLC service.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a base station 202 providing servicesto a plurality of user devices (UEs) 201, 201′, 201″ locating in theservice area 200 of the base station. The user devices 201, 201′, 201″may be configured to support ultra reliable low latency communications(URLLC) services. A URLLC service generally refers to a service thatrequires data communications from one end to another with ultra-highreliability and deadline-based low latency requirements. For example,the target for user plane latency may be 0.5 milliseconds for uplink,and 0.5 milliseconds for downlink with a reliability requirement of99.999%. Herein, term “URLLC UE” is used for a user device that isrequesting resources, and using them, for a URLLC service (causing URLLCtraffic), and term “non-URLLC UE” is used for a user device that isrequesting resources and using them for a service that is not a URLLCservice (and causing non-URLLC traffic). In the examples below URLLC UEis used as a synonym to URLLC traffic and non-URLLC UE as a synonym tonon-URLLC traffic.

The base station 202 is configured to implement reliability increasingresource allocation. For that purpose the base station comprises anenhanced resource allocation unit (e-r-a-u) 202-1, and in at least onememory 202-2 information needed for the reliability increasing resourceallocation. In the illustrated example, the information comprises one ormore mapping configurations and one or more rules utilizing the mappingconfigurations.

The mapping configurations define mappings between at least channelquality information and modulation coding scheme. Tables 1 to 3illustrate different examples on mapping configurations that may be usedwhen the base station is configured to allocate resources based on themapping between channel quality indicator (CQI) index and transportblock size, modulation scheme and coding rate, without restricting themapping configurations to the illustrated examples. Further, there maydifferent tables, or corresponding mapping configurations, for URLLCtraffic and non-URLLC traffic. For example, table 1 may be used fornon-URLLC traffic and table 3 to URLLC traffic. In the tables 1, 2 and3, the modulation schemes include quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK)and Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) schemes. Naturally, othermodulation schemes may be used. Further, the smaller the channel qualityindicator index reported by a user device is, the lower is the radiochannel quality detected by the user device.

TABLE 1 CQI index modulation code rate × 1024 efficiency 0 out of range1 QPSK 78 0.1523 2 QPSK 193 0.3770 3 QPSK 449 0.8770 4 16QAM 378 1.47665 16QAM 490 1.9141 6 16QAM 616 2.4063 7 64QAM 466 2.7305 8 64QAM 5673.3223 9 64QAM 666 3.9023 10 64QAM 772 4.5234 11 64QAM 873 5.1152 12256QAM 711 5.5547 13 256QAM 797 6.2266 14 256QAM 885 6.9141 15 256QAM948 7.4063

TABLE 2 CQI index modulation code rate × 1024 × R^(CSI) efficiency ×R^(CSI) 0 out of range 1 QPSK 40 0.0781 2 QPSK 78 0.1523 3 QPSK 1200.2344 4 QPSK 193 0.3770 5 QPSK 308 0.6016 6 QPSK 449 0.8770 7 QPSK 6021.1758 8 16QAM 378 1.4766 9 16QAM 490 1.9141 10 16QAM 616 2.4063 11-15Reserved Reserved Reserved

TABLE 3 CQI index modulation code rate x 1024 Efficiency 0 out of range1 QPSK 60 0.1172 2 QPSK 90 0.1758 3 QPSK 120 0.2344 4 QPSK 157 0.3066 5QPSK 193 0.3770 6 QPSK 251 0.4902 7 QPSK 308 0.6016 8 QPSK 379 0.7402 9QPSK 449 0.8770 10 QPSK 526 1.0273 11 QPSK 602 1.1758 12 16QAM 3401.3281 13 16QAM 378 1.4766 14 16QAM 490 1.9141 15 16QAM 616 2.4063

The one or more rules define how to allocate resources when thereliability increasing resource allocation is in use. The rules may takeinto account requirements set to a communication for which the resourcesare allocated. For example, different requirements for end-to-endlatency, jitter, survival time, communication service availability,reliability, user experienced data rate, payload size, traffic density,and/or service area dimension may be set for services provided. Further,URLLC is anticipated to bring requirements also on control channels, notonly to data channels. When all that is taken into account, a number andvariety of different rules may be set from simple ones to complex ones.Examples of different rules will be described in more detail below toillustrate the idea, without restricting the disclosed solutions to suchrules.

The memory 202 may comprise one or more rules for determining whether ornot there is sufficient amount of resources available. The base stationis configured to keep track on the traffic load, and the one or morerules may utilize one or more thresholds stored to the memory. Forexample, a rule may be “98% of capacity”. Another example include a rule“load is below the threshold if, when reliability increasing resourceallocation is used for URLLC traffic, there are enough resources to userdevices to use their services”. It should be appreciated that the aboveare just examples and any other way to determine, whether the trafficload is low enough, i.e. whether there is sufficient amount of resourcesavailable, may be used.

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 illustrate different examples of how to implement thereliability increasing resource allocation in a base station. Moreprecisely, they illustrate example functionalities of the enhancedresource allocation unit. In the examples, it is assumed thatinformation on channel conditions at user devices are received inchannel quality indicator reports. Naturally, any other correspondingway to convey the information on channel conditions may be used.

Referring to FIG. 3, channel quality indicator reports are received inblock 301. If there is sufficient amount of resources available, i.e. atraffic load in the cell is low enough, (block 302: yes), reliabilityincreasing resource allocation is used in block 303 to URLLC UEs. Thereliability increasing resource allocation is performed using one ormore rules. When resources are allocated based on the channel qualityindicator index value, a simple rule may be that when the current CQIindex value is 3 or more, for resource allocation a CQI index value,that is obtained by deducting 2 from the current CQI index value, isused, and if the current CQI index value is 2 or 1, CQI index value 1 isused. Another example of a rule includes that the above rule is used ifthere are enough resources available, but if not, then from the currentCQI index value 1 is deducted instead of 2. Further examples areillustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. For non-URLLC UEs no change in resourceallocation is needed.

If the traffic load is higher, i.e. there is not sufficient amount ofresources available, (block 302: no), it is checked in block 304,whether the traffic is a mixed traffic comprising both URLLC traffic andnon-URLLC traffic. In other words, it is checked, whether or not thetraffic load is caused by a mixture of URLLC-UEs and non-URLLC UEs. Ifthere is mixed traffic (block 304: yes), resources are shifted in block305 from non-URLLC traffic to URLLC traffic, and reliability increasingresource allocation is used in block 305 to URLLC-UEs. The reliabilityincreasing resource allocation in block 305 may be performed using thesame one or more rules as in block 303, or different rules may beapplied. The non-URLLC resources may be shifted according to one or morerules. For example, when resources are allocated based on the channelquality indicator index value, a simple rule may be that the current CQIindex value is incremented by one unless it is the highest value.Another example includes that the current CQI index value is incrementedby one when it is 8 or less. Shifting the resources in block 305 causesthat a little bit less resources are allocated to non-URLLC UEs andthere may be one or more rules according to which the resourceallocation to non-URLLC UEs is performed. The operation of block 305will result to better performance, for example less retransmissions, forURLLC traffic while it may introduce longer delay for non-URLLC traffic,caused by a possible increase in retransmissions, for example. However,usually non-URLLC traffic is not so sensitive to longer delays, andtherefore a longer delay is most likely not a problem.

In the illustrated example it is assumed, for the sake of clarity, thatwhen there is a heavy load, i.e. not sufficient amount of resourcesavailable, and there is no mixed traffic (block 304: no), the traffic isthen URLLC traffic. In such a situation retransmitted packets areprioritized in block 306.

The example illustrated in FIG. 4 differs from the one illustrated inFIG. 3 in that respect, how the heavy load with only URLLC traffic ishandled. In other words, blocks 401-405 correspond to blocks 301-305,correspondingly, and they are not repeated herein.

Referring to FIG. 4, when there is a heavy (block 402: no) URLLC traffic(block 404: no), one or more of the URLLC UEs are selected in block 406,according to one or more rules, to reliability increasing resourceallocation. In other words, for the selected user device(s) thereliability increasing resource allocation is used. The same principlesto select the user devices that are described in FIGS. 6 and 7 may beused also herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates a further example how the heavy load traffic may behandled. In the illustrated example, blocks 501-504 corresponds toblocks 301-304 of FIG. 3, or blocks 401-404 of FIG. 4, and thedescription relating to the blocks is not repeated herein in vain.

Referring to FIG. 5, when there is a heavy (block 502: no) URLLC traffic(block 504: no), in addition to either prioritizing retransmittedpackets (block 306 of FIG. 3) or selecting one or more of the userdevices, to reliability increasing resource allocation (block 406 ofFIG. 4), obtaining more resources is triggered in block 507. Forexample, activating of new spectral band(s) or activating more sites maybe triggered.

Further, in the illustrated example, shifting the resources (block 505)causes that the process proceeds to block 507 to trigger obtaining moreresources.

In another implementation, based on the example of FIG. 5, shifting theresources does not trigger obtaining more resources.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate examples how the base station, or moreprecisely, the enhanced resource allocation unit, may be configured toimplement the reliability increasing resource allocation. In theexamples, the reliability increasing resource allocation comprises abasic reliability increasing resource allocation and a selectivereliability increasing resource allocation. In the illustrated examples,the basic reliability increasing resource allocation means reliabilityincreasing resource allocation that can be used for all URLLC UEs,either because the traffic load is low or because by shifting enoughresources will be available. The selective reliability increasingresource allocation is used in the examples when the traffic load isheavy. It should be appreciated that in other implementations, thereliability increasing resource allocation may be implemented always asthe selective reliability increasing resource allocation. Further, inthe examples it is assumed, for the sake of clarity that a rule 1 isused for implementing the reliability increasing resource allocation,without limiting the examples to such a solution. Examples of the rule 1include examples given above with FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 6, when the reliability increasing resource allocationis in use (block 601), and there is sufficient amount of resourcesavailable to implement the basic reliability increasing resourceallocation (block 602: yes), the rule 1 is used to allocate resources toall URLLC UEs, for example as described above. For example, assumingthat 10 physical resource blocks (PRBs) are needed for transmitting userdata, and applying the rule 1 will mean that 20 PRBs are needed, andthere is 20 PRBs or more free, there is sufficient amount of resourcesavailable.

However, if there is not sufficient amount of resources available (block602: no), the selective reliability increasing resource allocation willbe used in block 603. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6, theselective reliability increasing resource allocation means that thoseURLLC UEs, with channel quality information (CQI) indicating that itsreliability is low, are selected to be the URLLC UEs to which the rule 1will be applied, resources to other URLLC UEs are allocated according tonormal/legacy resource allocation. (Including possibility to prioritizeresending of packets.) For example, signal-to-interference-plus-noiseratio (SINR) may be used to determine the reliability of the channelquality indicator information, and a URLLC UE reporting a SINR valuebelow a preset threshold may be selected to the reliability increasingresource allocation. In another example, as many URLLC UEs as possibleare selected to the reliability increasing resource allocation accordingto their SINR values, starting from the lowest one.

Applying the reliability increasing resource algorithm with more robustmodulation scheme to user devices with low reliability channel qualityinformation, the inaccuracy, including a possibility that the CQI indexis wrongly decoded as a higher or lower value, may be compensated.

The example of FIG. 7 differs from the example of FIG. 6 in theprinciples according to which URLLC UEs to reliability increasingresource allocation are selected. In other words, blocks 701-703corresponds to blocks 601-603 of FIG. 6, and the description relating tothe blocks is not repeated herein.

Referring to FIG. 7, if there is not sufficient amount of resourcesavailable (block 702: no), the selective reliability increasing resourceallocation will be used in block 703. In the illustrated example of FIG.7, the selective reliability increasing resource allocation means thatthat those URLLC UEs using URLLC services with high quality of service(QoS) requirements, are selected to be the URLLC UEs to which the rule 1will be applied, resources to other URLLC UEs are allocated according tonormal/legacy resource allocation. (Including possibility to prioritizeresending of packets.) For example, if a quality of service requirementof a URLLC UE exceeds a preset level, the URLLC UE is selected,otherwise not. In another example, as many URLLC UEs that is possibleare selected to the reliability increasing resource allocation accordingto their quality of service requirements, starting from the highest one.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate further examples of how to implement thereliability increasing resource allocation in a base station. Moreprecisely, they illustrate example functionalities of the enhancedresource allocation unit.

Referring to FIG. 8, when information on channel conditions at userdevices are received in block 801, reliability increasing resourceallocation is used for higher priority traffic in block 802 at least aslong as there is enough resources available (i.e. there is a sufficientamount of resources available, taking into account that the reliabilityincreasing resource allocation increases resources needed for thetraffic, compared to required resources with “normal” resourceallocation). Examples how to determine higher priority traffic aredescribed below with FIG. 10.

Referring to FIG. 9, the process starts with the base stationconfiguring in block 900 user devices for channel status information(CSI) and channel quality indicator (CQI) reporting. It should beappreciated that a corresponding functionality is performed with theother examples described above, even though not explicitly disclosed.When channel quality indicator (CQI) reports are received in block 901,it is checked in block 902, whether there is a sufficient amount ofresources available. If there is sufficient amount of resourcesavailable (block 902: yes), a lower level modulation scheme than theone, which would be selected based on a corresponding channel qualityindicator report, is selected in block 903 to URLLC UEs. In other words,the reliability increasing resource allocation is performed by selectinga more robust modulation scheme than a modulation scheme, which would beselected based on the information in the report. Thanks to that, betterreliability is achieved for URLLC traffic.

The amount how much a level selected for the modulation coding scheme inthe reliability increasing resource allocation is lowered (i.e. aback-off level) may be determined according to a delay window betweenthe last reported CQI and a corresponding user device, and/or accordingto the reliability requirements and/or the latency requirements. Forexample, when a delay window becomes larger, it is more probable thatthe channel has become worse. Hence, the modulation code schemeselection for a lower level channel conditions may help to compensatethe delay of CQI report. In other words, more back-off may be applied touser devices with less reliable CQI report and/or to user devices usingservices with more stringent quality of service (QoS) requirements.

If there is not sufficient amount of resources available, (block 902:no), resources are shifted in block 904 from non-URLLC traffic to URLLCtraffic (i.e. from non-URLLC UEs to URLLC UEs). Further, a lower levelmodulation scheme than the one, which would be selected based on acorresponding channel quality indicator report, is selected in block 905to URLLC UEs and a higher level modulation scheme than the one, whichwould be selected based on a corresponding channel quality indicatorreport, is selected in block 905 to non-URLLC UEs. In other words, thereliability increasing resource allocation is performed by selecting amore robust modulation scheme than a modulation scheme, which would beselected based on the information in the report, to URLLC traffic and aless robust modulation scheme selected to non-URLLC traffic shifts theresources.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of information exchange. In theillustrated example channel state information is used as an example ofinformation on channel conditions. In FIG. 10, UE1 and UE2 illustrateuser devices and gNB illustrates a base station serving the userdevices.

Referring to FIG. 10, in point 10-1 reporting of channel stateinformation is configured between the user devices and the base station.Then the base station receives in messages 10-2, 10-2′ channel stateinformation from the user devices, determines in point 10-3 availableresources, and performs resource allocation in point 10-4correspondingly. The performed resource allocation may containreliability increasing resource allocation. Further, the resourceallocation may select, using one or more rules, the traffic (userdevices) for which the apply reliability increasing resource allocation.The selection may performed based on service type: in the above examplesthe reliability increasing resource allocation is performed to URLLCtraffic. Another example may be that the reliability increasing resourceallocation is performed to high priority communications. (The highpriority may be determined by Quality of Service parameters, orindicated in another way.) Still further examples include that thereliability increasing resource allocation is used for traffic which CQIreport reliability is below a certain reliability and/or one or more ofquality of service (QoS) requirements are above corresponding limit(s).The selection may use other information, or additional information like:if resources are available, use the reliability increasing resourceallocation for all traffic, then determine priority order of the trafficand use the priority order to select (determine) traffic to which usethe reliability increasing resource allocation. The priority order maybe determined using reliability of CQI reports and/or quality of service(QoS) requirements. For example, lowering reliability of CQI reportsincreases priority. Then information on the resource allocation is sentin messages 10-5, 10-5′ to user devices. The user devices then use inpoint 10-6, 10-6′ the modulation coding scheme indicated in the resourceallocation.

Different scenarios to illustrate the reliability increasing resourceallocation are described below with the example of FIG. 10, and withfollowing assumptions: reliability increasing resource allocation isused for URLLC traffic (i.e. the higher priority traffic is URLLCtraffic), table 3 is used as the mapping configuration in resourceallocation for both URLLC and non-URLLC traffic, both user devicesreport in messages 10-2, 10-2′ that their channel quality indicatorindex is 6, reliability increasing resource allocation is applied bydecreasing the value of the channel quality indicator index by 2, andwhen resources are shifted, shifting is applied by increasing the valueof the channel quality indicator index by 1. With the assumptions anormal/legacy operation, i.e. no reliability increasing resourceallocation, would mean that the selected modulation scheme is 2 withcode rate 251/1024.

The scenarios are:

-   -   UE1 is a URLLC UE and UE2 is a non-URLLC UE, in point 10-3 it is        determined that there are enough available resources for        applying reliability increasing resource allocation for UE1,        therefore in point 10-4 CQI index value 4 is used for UE1 and        CQI index value 6 for UE2 (UE2 is following the normal        operation), message 10-5 conveys resource allocation according        to CQI index 4, message 10-5′ conveys resource allocation        according to CQI index 6. As a result UE1 uses modulation scheme        QPSK with code rate 157/1024 and UE2 uses modulation scheme QPSK        with code rate 251/1024. More resources are allocated to UE1        when the reliability increasing resource allocation is used        compared to normal operation (without the reliability increasing        resource allocation), without any adverse affect to resources        allocated to UE2. This means for UE1 that better reliability        performance may be achieved, a latency may be improved (become        shorter).    -   UE1 is a URLLC UE and UE2 is a non-URLLC UE, in point 10-3 it is        determined that there is not enough available resources for        applying reliability increasing resource allocation for UE1        without shifting the resources and shifting is possible (mixed        traffic), therefore in point 10-4 CQI index value 4 is used for        UE1 and CQI index value 7 for UE2, message 10-5 conveys resource        allocation according to CQI index 4, message 10-5′ conveys        resource allocation according to CQI index 7. As a result UE1        uses modulation scheme QPSK with code rate 157/1024 and UE2 uses        modulation scheme 16QAM with code rate 308/1024. More resources        are allocated to UE1 when the reliability increasing resource        allocation is used compared to the normal operation, and less        resources are allocated to UE2 compared to the normal operation.        This means for UE1 that better reliability performance may be        achieved, and a latency may be improved (become shorter). On the        other hand, for UE2 this means that failure detection may be        increased increasing possibility to retransmissions.    -   UE1 and UE2 are URLLC UEs, in point 10-3 it is determined that        there are enough available resources for applying reliability        increasing resource allocation for UE1 and UE2, therefore in        point 10-4 CQI index value 4 is used for UE1 and UE2, message        10-5 conveys resource allocation according to CQI index 4,        message 10-5′ conveys resource allocation according to CQI        index 4. As a result UE1 uses modulation scheme QPSK with code        rate 157/1024 and UE2 uses modulation scheme QPSK with code rate        157/1024. More resources are allocated to both UE1 and UE2 when        the reliability increasing resource allocation is used compared        to normal operation (without the reliability increasing resource        allocation). This means for UE1 and UE2 that better reliability        performance may be achieved and a latency may be improved        (become shorter).    -   UE1 and UE2 are URLLC UEs, in point 10-3 it is determined that        there are not enough available resources for applying        reliability increasing resource allocation for UE1 and UE2,        therefore in point 10-4 one of the UE1 and UE2 is selected, in        the example based on reliability levels of the two CQI reports,        CQI report from UE1 has a lower reliability level, and therefore        CQI index value 4 is used for UE1 and CQI index value 6 for UE2        (UE2 is following the normal operation), message 10-5 conveys        resource allocation according to CQI index 4, message 10-5′        conveys resource allocation according to CQI index 6. As a        result UE1 uses modulation scheme QPSK with code rate 157/1024        and UE2 uses modulation scheme QPSK with code rate 251/1024.        More resources are allocated to UE1 when the reliability        increasing resource allocation is used compared to normal        operation (without the reliability increasing resource        allocation), without any adverse affect to resources allocated        to UE2. This means for UE1 (with more worse channel conditions)        that better reliability performance may be achieved, and a        latency may be improved (become smaller).

As is evident from the above examples, the reliability increasingresource allocation improves latency and reliability performance forURLLC services, and provides better (more efficient) resource usage,especially when there is sufficient amount of resources available.

The blocks, points, related functions, and information exchangesdescribed above by means of FIGS. 3 to 10 are in no absolutechronological order, and some of them may be performed simultaneously orin an order differing from the given one. Other functions can also beexecuted between them or within them, and other information may be sent,and/or other rules applied. Some of the blocks/points or part of theblocks/points or one or more pieces of information can also be left outor replaced by a corresponding block or part of the block or one or morepieces of information. For example, the principles disclosed above maybe applied to control traffic as well.

Although in the above term “reliability increasing resource allocation”is used for the proposed way to process higher priority traffic, usingURLLC traffic as an example, it should be appreciated that any otherterm, for example aggressive resource allocation, or aggregativeresource allocation, may be used.

The techniques and methods described herein may be implemented byvarious means so that an apparatus/device configured to support encodingand/or decoding mechanism based on at least partly on what is disclosedabove with any of FIGS. 1 to 10, including implementing one or morefunctions/operations of a corresponding base station (network nodeconfigured to provide wireless access, device) described above with anembodiment/example, for example by means of any of FIGS. 2 to 10,comprises not only prior art means, but also means for implementing theone or more functions/operations of a corresponding functionalitydescribed with an embodiment, for example by means of any of FIGS. 2 to10, and it may comprise separate means for each separatefunction/operation, or means may be configured to perform two or morefunctions/operations. For example, one or more of the means and/or theenhanced resource allocation unit, or its sub-units, described above maybe implemented in hardware (one or more devices), firmware (one or moredevices), software (one or more modules), or combinations thereof. For ahardware implementation, the apparatus(es) of embodiments may beimplemented within one or more application-specific integrated circuits(ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processingdevices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers,microprocessors, logic gates, decoder circuitries, encoder circuitries,other electronic units designed to perform the functions describedherein by means of FIGS. 1 to 10, or a combination thereof. For firmwareor software, the implementation can be carried out through modules of atleast one chipset (e.g. procedures, functions, and so on) that performthe functions described herein. The software codes may be stored in amemory unit and executed by processors. The memory unit may beimplemented within the processor or externally to the processor. In thelatter case, it can be communicatively coupled to the processor viavarious means, as is known in the art. Additionally, the componentsdescribed herein may be rearranged and/or complemented by additionalcomponents in order to facilitate the achievements of the variousaspects, etc., described with regard thereto, and they are not limitedto the precise configurations set forth in the given figures, as will beappreciated by one skilled in the art.

FIG. 11 provides an apparatus (device, network node) according to someembodiments of the invention. FIG. 11 illustrates an apparatusconfigured to carry out at least the functions described above inconnection with the base station. In other words, the apparatus 1100 ofFIG. 11 depicts a network node configured to provide wireless accessaccording to what is described above. Each apparatus 1100 may compriseone or more communication control circuitry, such as at least oneprocessor 1102, and at least one memory 1104, including one or morealgorithms 1103, such as a computer program code (software) wherein theat least one memory and the computer program code (software) areconfigured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus tocarry out any one of the exemplified functionalities of the devicedescribed above.

Referring to FIG. 11, at least one of the communication controlcircuitries in the apparatus 1100 is configured to provide the enhancedresource allocation unit or its sub-units, and to carry outfunctionalities of a base station described above by means of any ofFIGS. 3 to 10 by one or more circuitries.

Referring to FIG. 11, the memory 1104 may be implemented using anysuitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memorydevices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, opticalmemory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory.

Referring to FIG. 11, the apparatus may further comprise differentinterfaces 1101 such as one or more communication interfaces (TX/RX)comprising hardware and/or software for realizing communicationconnectivity over the medium according to one or more communicationprotocols. The one or more communication interfaces may provide theapparatus with communication capabilities to communicate in the cellularcommunication system and enable communication to/from terminal devicesand to/from different network nodes, for example. The communicationinterface may comprise standard well-known components such as anamplifier, filter, frequency-converter, (de)modulator, andencoder/decoder circuitries, controlled by the corresponding controllingunits, and one or more antennas. The communication interfaces maycomprise radio interface components providing the device with radiocommunication capability in a cell. The communication interfaces maycomprise optical interface components providing the device with opticalfibre communication capability.

As used in this application, the term ‘circuitry’ may refer to one ormore or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations,such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry, and (b)combinations of hardware circuits and software (and/or firmware), suchas (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardwarecircuit(s) with software/firmware and (ii) any portions of hardwareprocessor(s) with software, including digital signal processor(s),software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, suchas a base station, to perform various functions, and (c) hardwarecircuit(s) and processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion ofa microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g. firmware) foroperation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed foroperation. This definition of ‘circuitry’ applies to all uses of thisterm in this application, including any claims. As a further example, asused in this application, the term ‘circuitry’ also covers animplementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multipleprocessors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (ortheir) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term ‘circuitry’ alsocovers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, abaseband integrated circuit for a base station, or other computingdevice or network device.

In embodiments, the at least one processor, the memory, and the computerprogram code form processing means or comprises one or more computerprogram code portions for carrying out one or more operations accordingto any one of the embodiments of FIGS. 3 to 10 or operations thereof.

Embodiments as described may also be carried out in the form of acomputer process defined by a computer program or portions thereof.Embodiments of the methods described in connection with FIGS. 2 to 10may be carried out by running at least one portion of a computer programcomprising corresponding instructions. The computer program may be insource code form, object code form, or in some intermediate form, and itmay be stored in some sort of carrier, which may be any entity or devicecapable of carrying the program. For example, the computer program maybe stored on a computer program distribution medium readable by acomputer or a processor. The computer program medium may be, for examplebut not limited to, a record medium, computer memory, read-only memory,electrical carrier signal, telecommunications signal, and softwaredistribution package, for example. The computer program medium may be anon-transitory medium. Coding of software for carrying out theembodiments as shown and described is well within the scope of a personof ordinary skill in the art.

Even though the invention has been described above with reference toexamples according to the accompanying drawings, it is clear that theinvention is not restricted thereto but can be modified in several wayswithin the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, all words andexpressions should be interpreted broadly and they are intended toillustrate, not to restrict, the embodiment. It will be obvious to aperson skilled in the art that, as technology advances, the inventiveconcept can be implemented in various ways. Further, it is clear to aperson skilled in the art that the described embodiments may, but arenot required to, be combined with other embodiments in various ways.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A network node configured to providewireless access, the network node comprising: at least one processor;and at least one memory including computer program code; the at leastone memory and computer program code configured to, with the at leastone processor, cause the network node at least to perform: keeping trackon traffic load; determining, in response to receiving information onchannel conditions from one or more user devices, based on the trafficload, available resources for traffic to and from the one or more userdevices; using, instead of normal resource allocation for higherpriority traffic, the normal resource allocation being based on channelconditions indicated in the information on channel conditions,reliability increasing resource allocation for the higher prioritytraffic at least as long as there are, based on the traffic load, enoughresources available; and shifting, in response to enough resources notbeing available and a mixed traffic load of higher priority traffic andnon-higher priority traffic, resources from the non-higher prioritytraffic to the higher priority traffic, the shifting includingallocating resources to the non-higher priority traffic assuming betterchannel conditions than those indicated in the information on channelconditions, and continuing the using the reliability increasing resourceallocation for the higher priority traffic, wherein different amounts ofresources are shifted for the mixed traffic than for differenttransmissions of the higher priority traffic when the higher prioritytraffic is present without the non higher priority traffic.
 2. Thenetwork node of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and computerprogram code are configured to, with the at least one processor, furthercause the network node at least to perform determining whether there isenough resources available by taking into account the additionalresources needed by the reliability increasing resource allocation forhigher priority traffic.
 3. The network node of claim 1, wherein the atleast one memory and computer program code are configured to, with theat least one processor, further cause the network node at least toperform: treating ultra reliable low latency communications traffic asthe higher priority traffic; and selecting amongst user devices withultra reliable low latency communications traffic those user devices towhich ultra reliable low latency communications traffic the reliabilityincreasing resource allocation is used.
 4. The network node of claim 1,wherein the at least one memory and computer program code are configuredto, with the at least one processor, further cause the network node atleast to perform: treating ultra reliable low latency communicationstraffic as the higher priority traffic; and selecting, in response toenough resources not being available and all traffic being ultrareliable low latency communications traffic, user devices to which ultrareliable low latency communications traffic to use the reliabilityincreasing resources allocation.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising, when there is not enough resources available: selecting, bythe network node, one or more user devices amongst user devices with thehigher priority traffic, based on reliability level of the informationon channel conditions received or based on reliability requirements ofcommunications service used; and using the reliability increasingresource allocation to the one or more user devices selected.
 6. Acomputer program embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium,said program comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus toperform at least the following: keeping track on traffic load;determining, in response to receiving information on channel conditionsfrom one or more user devices, based on the traffic load, availableresources for traffic to and from the one or more user devices; using,instead of normal resource allocation for higher priority traffic, thenormal resource allocation being based on channel conditions indicatedin the information on channel conditions, reliability increasingresource allocation for the higher priority traffic at least as long asthere are, based on the traffic load, enough resources available; andshifting, in response to enough resources not being available and amixed traffic load of higher priority traffic and non-higher prioritytraffic, resources from the non-higher priority traffic to the higherpriority traffic, the shifting including allocating resources to thenon-higher priority traffic assuming better channel conditions thanthose indicated in the information on channel conditions, and continuingthe using the reliability increasing resource allocation for the higherpriority traffic, wherein different amounts of resources are shifted forthe mixed traffic than for different transmissions of the higherpriority traffic when the higher priority traffic is present without thenon higher priority traffic.
 7. A network node configured to providewireless access, the network node comprising: at least one processor;and at least one memory including computer program code; the at leastone memory and computer program code configured to, with the at leastone processor, cause the network node at least to perform: keeping trackon traffic load; determining, in response to receiving information onchannel conditions from one or more user devices, based on the trafficload, available resources for traffic to and from the one or more userdevices; using, instead of normal resource allocation for higherpriority traffic, the normal resource allocation being based on channelconditions indicated in the information on channel conditions,reliability increasing resource allocation for the higher prioritytraffic at least as long as there are, based on the traffic load, enoughresources available, wherein the reliability increasing resourceallocation is performed by selecting to the higher priority traffic amodulation coding scheme intended for more worse channel conditions thanchannel conditions indicated in the information on channel conditionsreceived from a user device, wherein the reliability increasing resourceallocation is performed by using a channel quality index value with alower value than a value indicated in the information on channelconditions received from the user device to select the modulation codingscheme; and shifting, in response to enough resources not beingavailable and a mixed traffic load of higher priority traffic andnon-higher priority traffic, resources from the non-higher prioritytraffic to the higher priority traffic, the shifting includingallocating resources to the non-higher priority traffic assuming betterchannel conditions than those indicated in the information on channelconditions, and continuing the using the reliability increasing resourceallocation for the higher priority traffic.
 8. A network node configuredto provide wireless access, the network node comprising: at least oneprocessor; and at least one memory including computer program code; theat least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the atleast one processor, cause the network node at least to perform: keepingtrack on traffic load; determining, in response to receiving informationon channel conditions from one or more user devices, based on thetraffic load, available resources for traffic to and from the one ormore user devices; using, instead of normal resource allocation forhigher priority traffic, the normal resource allocation being based onchannel conditions indicated in the information on channel conditions,reliability increasing resource allocation for the higher prioritytraffic at least as long as there are, based on the traffic load, enoughresources available; and shifting, in response to enough resources notbeing available and a mixed traffic load of higher priority traffic andnon-higher priority traffic, resources from the non-higher prioritytraffic to the higher priority traffic, the shifting includingallocating resources to the non-higher priority traffic assuming betterchannel conditions than those indicated in the information on channelconditions, and continuing the using the reliability increasing resourceallocation for the higher priority traffic, wherein the shifting isperformed by selecting a modulation coding scheme intended for betterchannel conditions than channel conditions indicated in the informationon channel conditions received from the user device, wherein theshifting is performed by using higher channel quality index values thanthose indicated in the information on channel conditions received fromuser devices with non-higher priority traffic to select the modulationcoding scheme.
 9. A network node configured to provide wireless access,the network node comprising: at least one processor; and at least onememory including computer program code; the at least one memory andcomputer program code configured to, with the at least one processor,cause the network node at least to perform: keeping track on trafficload; determining, in response to receiving information on channelconditions from one or more user devices, based on the traffic load,available resources for traffic to and from the one or more userdevices; using, instead of normal resource allocation for higherpriority traffic, the normal resource allocation being based on channelconditions indicated in the information on channel conditions,reliability increasing resource allocation for the higher prioritytraffic at least as long as there are, based on the traffic load, enoughresources available; treating ultra reliable low latency communicationstraffic as the higher priority traffic; and selecting amongst userdevices with ultra reliable low latency communications traffic thoseuser devices to which ultra reliable low latency communications trafficthe reliability increasing resource allocation is used, wherein theselecting is performed based on reliability level of the information onchannel conditions or based on reliability requirements of ultrareliable low latency communications service; and shifting, in responseto enough resources not being available and a mixed traffic load ofhigher priority traffic and non-higher priority traffic, resources fromthe non-higher priority traffic to the higher priority traffic, theshifting including allocating resources to the non-higher prioritytraffic assuming better channel conditions than those indicated in theinformation on channel conditions, and continuing the using thereliability increasing resource allocation for the higher prioritytraffic.
 10. A network node configured to provide wireless access, thenetwork node comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memoryincluding computer program code; the at least one memory and computerprogram code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause thenetwork node at least to perform: keeping track on traffic load;determining, in response to receiving information on channel conditionsfrom one or more user devices, based on the traffic load, availableresources for traffic to and from the one or more user devices;determining whether the traffic is higher priority traffic or non-higherpriority traffic based on reliability level of the information onchannel conditions or based on quality of service requirements of thetraffic or based on whether the traffic is ultra reliable low latencycommunications service traffic; using, instead of normal resourceallocation for higher priority traffic, the normal resource allocationbeing based on channel conditions indicated in the information onchannel conditions, reliability increasing resource allocation for thehigher priority traffic at least as long as there are, based on thetraffic load, enough resources available; and shifting, in response toenough resources not being available and a mixed traffic load of higherpriority traffic and non-higher priority traffic, resources from thenon-higher priority traffic to the higher priority traffic, the shiftingincluding allocating resources to the non-higher priority trafficassuming better channel conditions than those indicated in theinformation on channel conditions, and continuing the using thereliability increasing resource allocation for the higher prioritytraffic.